Working Hard—and Smart—to Build Habits for a Lifetime

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The turning point in my life that shaped my perspective on work happened at age 12. I had just done some landscaping for a friend’s dad and I thought I had done a great job. I overheard the father telling his wife that although he really cared for me and thought I was a great kid, that I just “didn’t know what it meant to work hard.”

That was the changing point in my life. From that point on, I worked harder, and hopefully smarter and more than anyone that I knew. Since then, I have made a commitment to effective work habits, and excellence in all I do. The key is to make sure to focus on working smart and not just hard.

[Editor’s note: To tap the wisdom of our distinguished group of Xconomists, we asked a few of them to answer this question heading into 2016: “What is a key relationship or turning point that helped you get to where you are today?” You can see more questions and answers here.]